


Silver Lining (to Something Permanent)

by EnraptureEnchanted



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Angst, Annabeth is not ready to be a mom, Canon Compliant, College, F/M, Family, Family Issues, I won't spoil anything, I wrote this down in a rush so pacing is kinda weird, I'm Sorry, Just Percabeth, Kid Fic, No Spoilers, Post-Canon, Post-The Trials of Apollo, They are not ready, They'll figure it out, They're almost graduating, University, Will add more tags as I go, parenting, percabeth, so anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29712261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnraptureEnchanted/pseuds/EnraptureEnchanted
Summary: Annabeth always figured she'd be a mother one day. She had a plan. She'd get her degree, get a job in architecture, live her life to the fullest with Percy by her side. No more monsters. She thought they'd get to do all the things she wanted to do before finally settling down and starting a family.She didn't think her plan could fail so soon - by the most unexpected variable.Fic name changed from Something Permanent to Silver Lining!
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 29
Kudos: 75





	1. Where Would We Be Without A Little Chaos?

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in a whim because I thought it'd be funny.  
> I won't be trying too hard on this so the pacing is probably going to be terrible... ahah. Bear with me.  
> I'm just having my fun. Happy reading!

Annabeth was startled awake from a sudden weight on her chest. She blinked the misty feel away and tried to sit up, but something seemed to be pinning her down. This should cause her to be on her guard in an instant, perhaps even putting up a battle stance. But for some reason, her instincts told her it was nothing to worry about. So she allowed herself to stay in bed for a moment longer, trying to remember what her dream was about.

Strangely enough, that was what woke her up.

She couldn't remember her dream.

Annabeth always remembered her dreams.

She tried to move again. The thing on her was heavy, and she felt strangely comfortable enough to not be in the need to move immediately.

That didn't make sense.

It finally clicked that something was on her chest, and she couldn't get up without extra effort. But then the sound of snoring sounded in the air, and she tilted her head forward just enough to see a mop of long wavy wisps of raven hair. She'd seen enough of the top of Percy's head to know that it wasn't him, and she was absolutely certain that she'd made it clear he wasn't allowed to stay the night in her apartment. Even after they made it through their freshmen months and were allowed to live out of dorms, Annabeth decided she didn't need Percy to distract her. So she opted for her own apartment while Percy found one to share with his roommate.

"We'll get our own apartment once we've both graduated." She'd told him then, at the end of their freshmen year. "Or you can move in with me. I don't need you to distract me from studying."

"You've really got all this planned out huh." He commented with a grin. "Can I stay over occasionally?"

She pecked his lips. "No, Seaweed Brain. Never."

That was several years ago, and Percy hadn't disobeyed the rule since. Well, aside from the days when Annabeth had a particularly rough day or he stayed up late studying in her apartment. She allowed him to stay then, with the condition he stayed in her living room. Annabeth could count with her fingers the amount of times Percy had set foot into her bedroom.

Sure, they were dating. But Annabeth was disciplined enough to not get carried away, and that involved taking drastic measures.

She hadn't laid curled next to Percy in a long time.

So who was sleeping on her?

Had she gotten a dog at some point? She was sure she'd remember that.

Careful to not jostle the small figure on top of her, Annabeth slid her hand underneath her pillow for a Celestial Bronze knife she kept on her person at all times. Several years after losing her first one, she had another crafted especially for her. She missed having a small weapon to carry around. Owning a sword was nice, but it wasn't as portable as a dagger.

Finding the hilt, she slid it out stealthily.

As she raised her knife, the creature on top of her stirred. She froze in an instant, cautious about attacking. If she strike and the figure rolled right off her in the last second, she'll end up stabbing herself. That's definitely not a good outcome.

She had to be extra smart about it. There was also the chance of it waking up and attacking her face once it realizes what it was sleeping on. Either way, she was done for.

Annabeth supposed she could just ditch the idea of using a dagger and just flip her entire body to the side of the bed, dumping the weight right off her and stab it before it even had a chance to assess the situation. Why hadn't she thought of that sooner?

That was exactly what she did. With one hand still gripping the hilt, she used the force of her other arm against the mattress to push herself to one side in one fierce motion. She did a perfect 90, effectively throwing the small body off off hers. It fell to the floor with a loud thump, and she immediately sat up, bracing herself.

As she took aim, she had a quick once over of the crumpled form on the floor. She was startled at what she saw, and the weapon clattered to the floor from her loosened grip.

It was a child. A little girl that looked to be about one year old.

As she stared into the baby's wide, terrified grey eyes - yes, grey eyes - tears pooled, and loud wailing filled the apartment.

* * *

Percy's wakeup call was fairly decent in comparison. He was doused with cold water.

He woke up spluttering, and struggled to sit up in bed with his clothes thoroughly soaked. Apparently he had gotten water poured onto the length of his body instead of just his face.

"Wake up, Perce." His roommate told him. "Don't get mad at me. You were the one that told me to do that."

Percy glared at his roommate. "Cold water? My entire body? With those specifications?"

Roommate shrugged. "You're the son of Poseidon. I had my doubts." He placed down the bucket he was holding. Appearing nonchalant, he cracked his knuckles and moved to grab a mop leaning next to Percy's bed. He was prepared.

"It's almost 10 in the morning." His roommate told Percy when Percy made no move to get out of bed. "I thought you said you have to watch the baby today?"

Percy blinked at him, wondering if he was still asleep. "What?"

His roommate stared at him, but his hand kept moving as he cleaned up his own mess. "You told me to wake you up if you don't wake up before 10 because your girlfriend has classes today."

"Yeah I remember that - but what was that part about my baby?"

He got a weird look in response. "Did you lose your memory? Was the cold water too cold?"

"I-" He frowned, wondering if asking any more questions would make him look far more stupider than he felt. "Nevermind." He was probably forgetting something. He'll ask Annabeth later.

Percy willed himself to dry before grabbing a shirt and jeans to change into. His roommate was still mopping the floor when he made his way out. Strangely enough, the living room was filled with more color than he remembered. A majority of the floor was covered by a puzzle playmat of every color. Next to the couch was a little cardboard box full of toys. When he went to grab a drink, he opened it to see a bunch of tiny juice boxes and there was a row of clean milk bottles lined next to the kitchen sink. It got even weirder when he had to unlock a baby gate to leave. He wondered if his roommate had anything to do with it. But it could wait, he needed to see Annabeth before she had to leave for class.

Her apartment wasn't too far away. It was quite literally in the building next to his, so all he had to do was walk into it, take a few flights of stairs and he'd arrive in front of her door.

When he knocked, she didn't open it as fast as she normally would. It worried him, just a little bit, then he heard a click at the other side as something swung open. Then the door unlocked and he was face-to-face with a very irritated Annabeth.

Her hair was a mess, looking like she had cowlicks at every angle. Her shirt was rumpled and looked like she either spilled water or drooled on it. She seemed tense, one hand gripping the knob and the other holding onto a... plush zebra?

She didn't look ready for class at all.

"Annabeth?"

"We've got a problem." She grumbled. "And I think we've got my mom to thank for it."


	2. We, Us, You and Me

The click he heard earlier turned out to be a baby gate.

After Annabeth let him in, Percy gave her living room a once-over, surprised to see the splash of color thrown into her usually pristine living space. The rug in the middle of the living room was covered with several plush animals, some of wild animals like a lion, giraffe, hippo and a narwhal. The number of mythical creatures among the mess were larger, with a hydra, minotaur, hippocampus, unicorn, pegasus and hellhound being some of them. Percy couldn't help but wince at the sight of a few. It gave him an uneasy feeling as he thought about the times he had to kill those creatures time and time again.

There were several unpacked boxes piled up on the loveseat. Several were wrapped, while the others exposed what it contained. Percy could read out 'Build-it-Yourself! Kids Woodworking Kit' and 'Kitchen for Little Kiddie Cooks' among them. He tore his eyes away from checking out the other boxes once he felt his sight glazing over the effort. Even when seeing texts written in large, bold letters, his Dyslexia didn't make reading that much easier.

A blue pack and play stood in one corner of the room right behind Annabeth's three person couch. He was pleased to see the ocean-esque pattern on it, scattered with outlines of various sea animals. A baby mobile hung over it, featuring several different types of dolphins, whales and sharks being held together by an octopus.

He liked it.

Realizing he probably spent too long observing the living space, Percy turned his attention back to Annabeth. She was watching him intently, lips pulled into a straight line as she waited for his reaction.

"Are you... turning your place into a daycare?"

That earned him a death glare. "I woke up to _this_." Annabeth stepped into the center of the room and twirled around as she gestured to the entire space. "I think the gods are pranking me. Some of the things came with notes. The building kit came from Hephaestus, and half of the plush from Hades. I think he shared with Persephone? I don't know."

 _That_ threw him for a loop. Finding a bunch of toys suitable for a specific age group in his girlfriend's apartment was odd enough. But when said girlfriend seemed to be implying that it was all sent over by several different gods; now that was strange.

It reminded him of the odd additions to his own place. He hadn't thought of it much then.

"What are you talking about?"

"I have no idea." Annabeth looked conflicted. Admitting to not knowing what was going on clearly bothered her. "Come on, I think it's better for me to show you."

She gestured him to follow as she made her way to her room, and he did, only hesitating slightly at the doorway to her bedroom. He stepped through when she gestured impatiently for him to come in.

"Look." She pointed to her bed.

A child, likely no more than a year old, lay sleeping in Annabeth's bed. It was sucking soundly on a pacifier, one that Percy proudly noted to be blue. He couldn't see most of the baby's features, just that it had a mop of wild black hair and was wearing the cutest onesie that said 'SORRY DADDY' in big bold texts, with the words 'you now have two bosses' right underneath it. It was printed in Greek, he realized, surprised by how easily the phrases came to him.

"Where did you get it?" It felt like a stupid question, but Percy thought it over and decided it was valid.

"Her." Annabeth corrected him. She was steadily avoiding his gaze. That was certainly odd. Then, to answer his question, "I have no idea where she came from. I just woke up to her sleeping on me like it's the most comfortable place-"

"You bet-"

She punched him.

"Everything just appeared." She continued her explanation. "I swear I didn't go to bed with my living room looking like I just hosted a baby shower."

Percy rubbed his arm, letting the pain of his girlfriend's punch subside. He should say something helpful. He really should. But if Annabeth had no idea what was going on, then neither does he. So all he managed was a very unimpressive, "Huh."

Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Maybe the gods decided to have one at your place and forgot to tell you." She looked like she was about to punch him again.

"Demeter sent this." Annabeth went over to her bedside table and gestured to a considerably large pot. It held a branching shrub spreading out of its container, topped with long flowering lilac shoots. A small sign was stuck into the soil, the words _'For sweet sleep, from Demeter goddess of the harvest, grain, and fertility.'_ "It's lavender, to help with sleep. When she couldn't stop crying, the pot just materialized out of nowhere. Everything else did. Most came with notes. Some... congratulating me. Others just to say who they were from."

"This is so weird. The gods never cared about us and then you somehow got a baby and they're all sending you these things." From the grin on his face, Percy obviously found amusement in the situation. "It's like, a brand new quest."

"This isn't funny, Percy. What do I do with a baby? I can't just hand her over to the authorities and go 'I found her sleeping in my bed'. Can you imagine the numerous predicaments that could construct?" She didn't appear any less bothered by the situation. He decided he'd tone the jokes down. The last thing Annabeth needed was to believe the person she trusted the most not taking a serious situation seriously.

Seeing the child stir and roll over in her sleep, Percy took Annabeth's arm and guided her out of the room. He sat her down on a couch that was thankfully safe of any new packages. The loveseat was overflowing with so many boxes, it was beyond saving.

"Okay." He started once the door closed behind them. "Let's piece this together. You woke up with a baby."

Annabeth exhaled sharply. "Yes."

"Fully clothed? Not a newborn?" Percy asked as casually as he could manage. The question felt weird on his tongue.

"Oh my god." Annabeth wanted to deck him. She couldn't figure out whether Percy understood the weight of the situation or not. When her boyfriend just continued to fix her with a serious gaze, she sighed and answered. "Yes, Percy. She came that way. I haven't even changed her out of the clothes she came with. Aphrodite gifted quite a cute wardrobe for her though..."

He wanted to ask about that. Percy's chest filled with joy at the thought of cute baby clothes. He'd accompanied his mother once when she shopped for Estelle's outfits. Needless to say, he had been the more enthusiastic of the two. He was excited for a little sister, and the day he saw Estelle in a little dress he'd picked, he was sure he'd die happy.

But that wasn't what Annabeth needed right now. She needed him to focus. They had to figure this out.

"You're sure? She didn't come flying down to you in a golden cradle?" He said, instead of the request to see the clothes his heart wanted to ask.

Annabeth, perceptive as always, saw where he was coming from. He was trying to figure out if the child sleeping in her room came to her the way any child of Athena would. It would explain how she magically appeared in Annabeth's room. It would make sense.

Except it didn't.

"Gods." She said in an almost whisper. "Do you think my mom sent me her kid?"

"Your sister." Percy rectified. He wasn't sure if it was something Athena would do, but he'd seen the goddess put trust in Annabeth time and time again. Who knows the limit to things she'd be willing to challenge her daughter to.

"But she was just _here_. Sleeping on top of me. She didn't appear on my doorstep with any note. Athena at least named me when she gave me to my dad. Other than all the unexpected gifts, this one didn't come with anything that actually _belonged_ to her."

Annabeth looked like a wreck. The bun she'd pulled her hair into was already coming apart. She seemed worried, and her mind was whirling around and branching out to so many possibilities that could potentially pan out from the issue at hand. The child obviously needed a home, and apparently it was with Annabeth. But Annabeth was still in University. They were both in their last month, where everything needed double their attention and time. They couldn't split that just for a child. Once she started mumbling some things about plans and her life being ruined, Percy grabbed her shoulder and held her at an arm's length, willing her to look at him.

It took some prompting for her to finally face him.

"Annabeth." He said, voice soft. "Talk to me."

"Percy." She responded, voice wavering slightly. "If Athena gave her to me, there's no way she'd take her back."

"So we send her back where she came from. They can deal with their own messes." Percy said decisively. It wasn't the first he'd thought that. Then he thought of the small, helpless demigod baby, prompting him to add, "If you're sure you're not ready for this."

"Do you think that would work?" Annabeth sounded hopeful, but then she frowned, seeming to have remembered something. "I don't think so. When my dad wanted Athena to take me back, she said demigods are to be raised by their mortal parents."

"She can't expect you to raise a baby when you don't want to." Percy reminded her as gently.

Annabeth's head snapped up at him. "She's expected me to do worse things, Percy."

Percy thought of his mother, remembering all the sacrifices she'd made for him. He wondered if raising a child was, in fact, not worse than saving the world. That's a debate for another time.

He pulled Annabeth in then, kissing her forehead. "We'll figure it out."

She let him hold her for a while. She was lost in thought for a good while before finally returning his embrace.

"I actually do want to protect her, Percy." Annabeth told him, arms wrapped around his neck. Hearing her say it filled him with relief. "Just not this way."

He pushed her hair out of her face and looked at her. They didn't spend years together to not be able to read each other like an open book. In fact, Percy was willing to bet he could read Annabeth better than any book. "You don't want her to grow up the way you did, right?"

She smiled at his understanding.

Her boyfriend took it as a yes. "Me neither." He admitted. Percy may have grown up with a loving mother, but Poseidon had been absent for a good chunk of his life and he did have an abusive stepfather for a while. He wasn't a stranger to terrible parenting. "So what do you want to do?"

Annabeth looked like she was about to say something, then she paused, as if remembering something crucial in her life. "We're still in University. We can't rush into this. We have to think this through." She said it so fast, it sounded like a chant. To make things worse, Annabeth's gaze flickered to the watch on her wrist and she cursed inwardly, running her hands into her mop of curls. "And I have class in less than an hour."

Somehow, it flattered Percy that Annabeth's first thought was to include him, despite the child being her responsibility. It reminded him of their promise, of how they would always take on everything together.

"I don't have class today. You go, do what you have to do, and we'll talk about this later." He said decisively.

The blond stopped raking her hands furiously through her hair, pausing in her internal panic. "Percy, I can't leave you alone with a baby you don't even know."

He looked amused at that, eyebrows raised. "Oh? Are you saying you know her?"

"Well no, but you can't expect me to leave a child with a child." Annabeth said it with such a straight face Percy wasn't sure if she meant it.

"Wow. That stings." Percy feigned hurt, placing a hand over where his heart was. When Annabeth didn't say anything, he worked on reassurance. "It's fine. I helped my mom with Estelle a lot, remember? I think I can handle a few hours with a random baby."

Percy had always had a way with people, and Annabeth knew this. When the person he spent time with wasn't a complete jerk, anyways.

This seemed to calm her, and she looked at him square in the eyes as she mulled over the option presented to her. She undid her bun and pulled her hair up into a ponytail before speaking again. Looking at such a haggard mess her golden locks were in, Percy had to refrain from commenting.

"You're confident about this?" Annabeth asked her, looking slightly more optimistic than she was moments ago.

"Definitely." He placed a hand on her shoulder, his other hand grabbing hers. Percy coaxed her to stand. "You have a lot on your mind. Don't think about this yet. Get that class over with, and we'll talk about what to do next. We return this baby, we keep her, whatever. We'll consider everything and decide the best course of action to take."

He tried his best to keep his crooked grin out of his face, just for the sake of ensuring just how serious he was being. He probably failed, and the poker-face he held wobbled into a smirk. He hoped Annabeth wouldn't take it the wrong way.

She didn't. It was Percy's turn to include all the 'We's in his plan, and it almost made Annabeth want to cry. She wasn't paying attention to the overly excited look he wore. She held onto his words instead.

"Okay." She said quietly, giving him a smile.

"Okay?" He actually looked surprised at that. Annabeth wanted to smack him.

"Okay." She confirmed.

"Okay." He grinned, leaning in to kiss the space between her eyes. "Go show the world who's boss."

She smiled, a smile so soft it made him weak at the knees. Then she stepped away and made her way to her room, completely forgetting to do it quietly. The door slammed against the wall as she pushed it open, startling the sleeping child awake. Loud cries filled the air.

"Percy." Annabeth said in despair. She didn't move from where she stood.

Percy had the audacity to laugh. "I got it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I appreciate all the comments and kudos! c:


	3. Those Eyes of Hers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now Beta-Read because I forced my sister to sit down and read it!  
> Just kidding, she nagged me to let her read it and now she's my Beta-Reader.  
> Previous chapters have been beta-read and edited as well! Thanks sis :>  
> Hope ya'll enjoy!

"I should stop calling you baby."

Percy was lying on the floor, the infant he'd been left with crawling all over him. His body was littered with legos of every color of the rainbow - and he was trying his best to talk to her without dropping the ones she'd placed on his forehead. He discovered that the baby understood English perfectly - she stopped and listened when he spoke, always babbling in return as if they were engaging in active conversation. She didn't have a good grasp on colors, and after a few times of pointing to the color blue and telling her what was blue, she understood and tried her best to dig out blue legos from one of the boxes they'd unpacked.

He also discovered she liked the color pink, from the way she kept pointing to the color. It wasn't unlike how Percy had when he introduced her to blue. Percy wondered if Annabeth was a baby genius when she was just one, like her little sister seemed to be.

Annabeth had left the apartment roughly an hour ago, not without fretting. She was concerned over leaving him with a young child. It took Percy an extra ten minutes of convincing to assure her that he had it all under control. He had to show her how he was already familiar with where everything was, a feat that left Annabeth wondering when he even had the time to make sure. She didn't even know there was baby formula, cookies and yogurt in the cupboards. There were even a large storage of soft fruits and homemade instant pancake packaging, none of which Annabeth remembered buying for her living space. To top it off, Percy gave her a brief run-down on what to do when a baby cries.

She couldn't find a reason that would make her believe Percy wouldn't be able to handle it, so she left, not without a kiss for good luck.

The child babbled to him, as if telling him what her name was in some kind of baby language. He pretended to guess, quoting the Little Mermaid boat scene as he did so. When she stuck her tongue out after Percy suggested 'Ariel', he laughed and ended the pretense.

"I have to call you something. A proper name." He said now, assaulted by legos. The baby crawled over and slapped her tiny pudgy hands onto his stomach, giggling when he pretended to double over in pain. All the legos fell off, and he froze for exactly a second to see if it upset her. She didn't seem to mind, grinning widely at him. Her eyes sparkled with joy.

He curled his body around her, grabbing a tiny socked foot and pretending to nibble. She screamed good-naturedly, pushing away his face. When he didn't budge, she pulled his nose, emitting a little yelp of surprise from Percy. She shrieked happily.

"You little monster." Percy complained, hand not letting go of her ankle. "That's your name, right? Monster."

He chanced a glance around the living room, half-expecting an actual monster to appear. Logically, he knew one wouldn't, because Annabeth had told him at one point that Athena appreciated her choice of living alone so much she granted her a protection blessing on her apartment. He told her Athena should've just placed the protection on her person instead. Annabeth just responded with how that wouldn't do much good with keeping her study materials safe.

Percy supposed he couldn't argue with that. He'd known Annabeth long enough to know that knowledge is far too important to risk losing. Even he had grown to appreciate that over the years.

"You sure Annabeth didn't give you a name?" He questioned, knowing full well it was the only thing his girlfriend forgot to make sure of. "Let's give you one then. A nickname at least. Do you want that?"

Hearing him talk got the baby's attention. Percy had figured out quite soon that saying a few sentences in a short span of time would do just that. She seemed to drink in everything he said. When Estelle was one, all she wanted to do was suck his fingers and do everything he told her not to do.

If he wasn't sold on the assumption of the child being Athena's yet, he certainly was now.

As her eyes bore into him, she noticed how strikingly identical they were to Annabeth's. They were almond-shaped, round and full of intelligence - with soft- arched eyebrows creating a good mix for intimidation. Her quicksilver eyes shone with intensity. If she weren't a baby, Percy would be convinced that she was reading into his thoughts like a book. He could distinctly remember Annabeth's siblings all having the same grey eyes and curly blond hair, and would look like clones of each other if they didn't each have their own unique features.

They all looked the same from the back though. He remembered a brief memory of wanting to surprise Annabeth from behind, several years ago. He was headed to the campfire at Camp Half-Blood at the time, looking for her after a long day of training. The campers had gotten closer since the first Titan war, and would often sit together and share stories about everything and nothing throughout the rest of the year.

When he came up, he immediately spotted what he thought was Annabeth, sitting with her back to him, golden curls cascading down her back. He didn't hesitate to surprise her from the back, patting her shoulder and pressing his lips to her temple the moment she turned around.

His face rivaled a tomato the moment he realized that the person he kissed was in fact not his girlfriend.

The girl giggled, not seeming to mind a peck on the cheek from their hero. Everyone burst into loud laughter. Even Clarisse seemed amused, shooting a rather inappropriate comment his way.

Percy fumbled through his apology, pushing out a rather haggard explanation. Fortunately, any offense he may have caused was unfounded.

 _"Miss me, Seaweed Brain?"_ Annabeth's voice sounded cheekily next to him. The accident was forgotten quickly enough, but it dug a hole at the back of Percy's brain and refused to leave. Apparently, the Athena campers being mistaken for each other was an occurrence that happened frequently enough.

Percy found out later on that the blond hair was mostly a coincidence. Most of the Athena cabin members all either had fathers with blond hair, or at least had a connection to the genes through blood relatives or ancestors. He remembered Annabeth telling him - years ago when they were twelve - about how few demigods managed to survive the world outside of camp and become famous. Her half-siblings, George Washington was said to be a redhead and Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi likely had dark hair.

Looking at the baby now, it wasn't a surprise that she had dark hair.

But now that he was really looking at her, this child definitely looked like Annabeth, and he knew Annabeth herself resembled the goddess Athena to an extent. If not for the black hair and olive skin, he was willing to bet it was what Annabeth would've looked like as a baby. He made a mental note to ask for baby pictures sometime. Dr. Chase should definitely have some.

"Do you know the Little Mermaid?" Percy asked the baby, sitting up and placing her on his lap, facing him. When she just cooed and blinked cutely at him, he kept talking. "It's about this little mermaid called Ariel."

Percy spent a good few minutes telling her about the movie plot. When that was done, he moved on to The Little Mermaid 2 and Ariel's beginning. They didn't spend the entire time sitting. Sometime during a story about Ariel's half-human daughter, he'd gotten up with the baby in his arms and went to get some fruit for them both to snack on. They were nibbling on some pieces of banana together when the baby laughed at Percy's terrible imitation of a certain bossy crab.

"Do you like Sabastian?" He grinned. She only proceeded to laugh some more. Percy decided he liked the sound.

"Maybe Melody would fit you better." Percy suggested, tickling her side. "Your laugh is music to my ears."

The baby threw a banana slice at him indignantly, though her large eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Okay, not Melody. Grumpy-pants. Got it."

She pulled at his nose, a mischievous look drifting across her face. Percy couldn't seem to tear himself away from her eyes. They were beautiful, and so much like Annabeth. He adored this, he thought. Something alive to remind him of her whenever she was away. She had been keeping herself busy for the past four years. Annabeth always had time for him despite it all, of course, and he could remember all the days when she had pulled herself out of classes, meetings, assignments and projects just to get to him.

She wouldn't hesitate to break her schedule and abandon her plans. It was one of the reminders that Percy will always be the most important thing to her. As much as Annabeth had proven to be a stickler at following a specific timetable, their demigod lives promised one of chaos. This made them both prepared to throw themselves into the unpredictable at any moment.

With the current situation at hand, he had complete faith in her to know exactly what to do.

After giving the baby a brief summary of Frozen - a movie Percy had adamantly insisted he watched only because of his own little sister, definitely not because he voluntarily chose to see - Percy decided he should pop in a movie and let the infant watch something. He had found that the baby was pretty good at keeping herself occupied. She played with the legos non-stop, and even managed to connect a few blocks and build something. He later found that she loved it when he pretended to be a giant and threaten to smash it to bits in a gigantic rampage. But it all got old really fast.

"Should I put on a documentary?" He asked the baby. She laughed in response, as if the idea itself was ridiculous. Percy grinned. "Good to know you don't have the same taste as your sister."

He put in Frozen, and for a moment, the child was captivated. He had her for half the movie before she decided to take the remote from him and attempt to switch it to something else.

"You know how tvs work, huh?" Percy told her, impressed. She just proceeded to smash on random buttons with her adorable tiny fingers.

He picked her up, gently prying the object from her small hands. "Let's see what other movies we've got here."

If anyone asked why Annabeth has so many Disney movies in her apartment, she'd tell the truth. If anyone asked Percy on her behalf, he'd bluff his way through. He didn't have a DVD player at his place, so Percy had taken to storing all his movies in her living room. Most of Percy's were movies Estelle made him buy to watch, so he could understand the things she tries to talk to him about when they were on the phone or IM. This unfortunately meant cartoons.

Annabeth never minded the growing collection of children's movies Percy kept. Seeing as the plan was to move in with her after they graduate, he treated the apartment as his own as much as Annabeth would allow. Percy had brought in some of the furniture and he would stock up the kitchen every few days. This familiarized him with her eating habits. Even as students, he discovered she ate about as much as he does, which was a lot. It wasn't surprising, as they still encountered monsters on occasion. Being demigods in their 20s meant they were much bigger targets for monsters. Apparently, even after the amount of times Percy and Annabeth had collectively taken down monsters, the creatures kept coming for more. The strenuous activity that came with fighting for their lives brought fourth huge appetites for the couple.

The baby seemed uninterested in most of the movies Percy offered to her. After shifting through half of everything he owned, he held the child mid-air at arm's length, looking at her square in the eyes.

"I'll have you know," He began, "These are quality masterpieces. The Little Mermaid? Cool stuff. How to Train your Dragon? Pure genius."

An expression of complete disinterest was her response.

"Really? At least Annabeth pretends to like these things! Actually - she _does_ like them!"

Percy had never seen such a serious baby before in his life. She looked to be at least a year old, and the only thing convincing him of her not being older than she appeared to be was her lack of vocabulary. He'd met gods taking the appearances of children before, and a fellow demigod friend of his, Frank Zhang, had the ability to turn into animals. It wasn't hard to believe that shape-shifters can exist among demigods.

After half an hour of digging though all the cds he owned, Percy gave up trying to sway her interest. She much preferred playing with her toys. He unboxed some building blocks for her, hoping Annabeth wouldn't mind him going through the gifts. He didn't know if she planned on returning them. Annabeth was usually the one more accepting to gifts from the gods than Percy, but the situation seemed too bizarre, even for him. They'd jumped into quests completely unprepared and lacking in necessities before.

It was a complete contrast in comparison. Now, looking around, Percy felt overprepared. He wasn't sure what to do about that.

He knew for a fact that, being a gift from Annabeth's mother, the apartment was protected by Athena herself. No magical items or delivery from the gods would've made it in without her consent. Even Hades and Persephone sent some things, along with a note addressed to Annabeth that said something about having children being nuisances and living your life with metaphorical hell-spawns. It was all written in ancient Greek fortunately, so it saved him about a half hour of trying to read. He couldn't even read the words on the baby's clothes without staring at it for at least 5 minutes.

Percy didn't let himself wonder too long as to how Annabeth had somehow gained the favor of the Lord of the Dead himself. He suspected Nico had something to do with it.

The building blocks he'd unboxed had Greek lettering on them, prompting Percy to spell out his own name for the baby. There were exactly 24 blocks, one for each of the alphabet. Conveniently, the letter on one block changed when he needed another Epsilon to spell _Perseus_. The baby seemed to enjoy this activity, even more so when he arranged several of the remaining cubes to spell Annabeth's name. The letters continued to change when he needed duplicate letters.

"Enjoy being a baby, kid." Percy told her. "You don't want to be a Brainiac too soon, trust me."

As if to prove the point that she could have fun too, the baby pushed all the neatly arranged blocks aside and laughed at Percy's surprise.

"Doesn't excuse you liking spelling better than movies, little lady." He teased her. She just grinned at him, showing off all four teeth. She started chattering to him again, and he engaged in the conversation.

Percy told her about his mother, spelling Sally's name using the blocks. He switched to English letters this time, realizing he wasn't sure how to spell his mother's name using Greek alphabets. The letters on the blocks morphed willingly. Then he told the baby about his stepfather, Paul Blofis and his little sister, Estelle, who had recently turned four that year. He spelled as he talked.

"You'd make a good therapist." He joked. "You're a good listener, you know that?"

The baby nodded, as if she did know that. Percy wondered exactly just how much she understood.

"You need a name." He told her again. "Do you know your name? Can you spell it?"

She reached for a block, and the letter 'A' she grabbed from Sally's name immediately turned into an Alpha. Percy smiled knowingly, reminded of the first letter to Annabeth's name.

The baby ended up scattering the cubes instead of spelling something comprehensible. Percy laughed at her, complimenting her skills at making a mess. She beamed at him. Her eyes never lost their sparkle.

"Cloudy." Percy decided, looking at her eyes. He always thought of Annabeth's own pair as cloudy when she was deep in thought. But when she was excited.., "Or Silver." He grinned at the baby.

The child babbled away at him, as elated as ever.

"Silver it is."

He'd babysat Estelle before, but never felt the way he did with this mysterious child. The raven-haired little girl with her sparkling quicksilver eyes made him feel the fullest he'd ever had since he made the promise to Annabeth.

_We're staying together._

_You're not getting away from me._

_Never again._

Maybe he's overprepared, maybe he's underprepared. Either way, he hadn't expected to wake up to the day he was currently living.

He definitely wasn't prepared to make the promise again, but he was willing to try.

* * *

Annabeth didn't come back until several hours later. As an overachiever, she tended to have classes one after the other. Other times, when she wasn't at the apartment she would be occupied with project meetings, research for assignments and anything else that came up. She tended to take her online classes for Berkeley outside as well, from whenever she got tired of staying indoors. Having grown up in camp made her susceptible to closed spaces at a prolonged length of time.

It didn't stop Percy from being worried when she walked in some hours after noon. The first thing he wanted to ask when he heard the door open was if she'd eaten yet. He'd been sitting in the living room at another round of legos with a freshly bathed and fed infant when he heard her.

What he saw when he looked to the door made the words die in his mouth. Annabeth was a sight. Thin strands of curls were stuck to what looked suspiciously like dried blood covering half her face. From the part of the crown her hair covered, Percy was willing to bet he'd find a long gash there. There was a thin, deep cut on her lip.

It was the reddened eyes and bleary look she gave him that made him stand up and rush to her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Went into details with demigod physical features because I've always found those fascinating! I wish the books had elaborated more on that. Also about Annabeth's eye shape, idk if it's been mentioned in books. (If it had then I'm sorry) I chose it to be almond shaped because those can be really intimidating, as well as being really pretty and also not narrowed. I have permanently narrowed eyes, and I get comments on how scary they are a lot of the time ahah. Also it gives more chance for light to enter the grey irises, as well as exposing more color, and honestly that is such a gorgeous image. I love eyes.
> 
> Decided to go with 'Silver' for the baby because I always see Annabeth's eyes described as 'grey', which is unique and all but the word is used so much. I always adored the uniqueness in Annabeth's features being her eyes, and when I found a fic where her eyes were described to be 'quicksilver', I loved that.
> 
> Also also Silver is just a nickname, she'll likely have a proper name once they find out what it is. I just needed something to call her lol, and I doubt Percy could last a day with a nameless child without calling her something. I mean, in The Sea of Monsters he named a male sea-cow-serpent mermaid thing (Ophiotaurus) Bessie. Don't tell me he won't try to name a random kid.
> 
> I won't have a regular schedule for updates, just getting it out there now. I do have the entire story planned out but it's a matter of getting it done - and being a person that actually has a job and a life, writing this will not be my main priority. It'll be done when it's done. Sorry about that.
> 
> I'm honestly surprised by the amount of attention this fic is getting - gosh, thank you all so much!  
> I hope all of you stick around for the ride and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it ^^


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